By Michael Olugbode
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has expressed dissatisfaction over the fatal killing of a 27-year-old Nigerian, Mr. George Nkencho, in Ireland.
Chairman of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, described the killing as “callous” in a statement on Thursday.
It was gathered that Nkencho was shot dead by gardaí ((Irish police) during an incident in west Dublin on Wednesday afternoon.
The Irish Examiner reported that a protest took place yesterdat morning outside a garda station in Dublin following yesterday’s fatal shooting by gardaí of a 27-year-old man.
In a video that surfaced online, some protesters knelt outside Blanchardstown Garda Station in memory of Nkencho.
They also displayed placards with various inscriptions.
Tweets on social media compared the Nigerian’s killing to high profile events in the United States, involving the death of black people at the hands of the police. It was learnt that about five shots were discharged at the Nigerian after apparent attempts to subdue him by two tasers and pepper spray proved unsuccessful.
In a statement on Twitter, Nkencho’s sister Gloria said her brother was “suffering from serious mental illness and those who knew him know the type of person he was, he was not a thug nor a criminal.
“My siblings and I have witnessed the most traumatic experience of our lives as our brother was shot in front of us. I kindly ask (you) to refrain from sharing the video of the shooting. It is not something I wish to be reminded of.”
Dabiri-Erewa said she is “apparently disturbed” by the killing and called for “a full, thorough, and fair investigation into the matter”.
She also condemned, in strong terms, the killing of Nkencho.
The statement by NIDCOM Head of Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said Dabiri-Erewa also described the death of the young Nigerian by a Police officer as “wicked”. She appealed to “the obviously enraged Nigerian community in Ireland to exercise patience and await the outcome of an investigation into the unfortunate incident”.
“Already, the African Advocacy Network Ireland has expressed shock to learn about the callous shooting dead of George Nkencho on Wednesday, December 30.
“Circumstances surrounding the killing of a mentally challenged young man has enraged the African community and demanded a full independent public inquiry,” the statement added.
In their statement, gardaí claimed that “Uniform, unarmed Gardaí responded to the scene and observed a male in possession of a knife. The male continued to threaten members of the public and unarmed Gardaí with the knife.
“The Armed Support Unit were also threatened with a knife and implemented a graduated response where the use of less-lethal force options (taser and OC spray) was initially administered in an effort to resolve the incident. The less-lethal use of force options were unsuccessful.
“At approximately 12.35 pm, a member of the Armed Support Unit discharged a number of shots from his official firearm shooting the male.
“The male was treated at the scene by Garda Armed Support Unit paramedics and Dublin Fire Brigade paramedics and transferred to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.”
